Turbopulp refining blender and classifier

ABSTRACT

The turbopulp-refining blender and classifier is comprised of a refining chamber having an inlet port and a plurality of blades detachably mounted by securing means on a rotor which is rotatably mounted within the refining chamber. The blades have beveled cutting edges on their opposite ends and are each positioned on the rotor with one end disposed outwardly with respect to the rotational axis of the rotor and with the opposite end pointing inwardly with respect to the rotational axis of the rotor. The refining chamber includes adjustable walls adapted to be moved inwardly and outwardly with respect to the rotor.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Lloyd D. Smiley 2915 North MarketStreet, St. Louis, Mo. 63106 [21] Appl. No. 797,959 [22] Filed Feb. 10,1969 [45] Patented Dec. 28, 1971 [54] TURBOPULP REFINING BLENDER ANDCLASSIFIER 8 Chins, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl. 241/46.06, 241/73, 241/189 R, 241/191, 241/195, 241/287[51] int. Cl. ..B02e 13/09, B02c 13/13,B02c 13/284 [50] Field of Search241/46.06, 46.08, 73, 86, 90,138, 186, 189, 189.5, 191,194, 195, 287,82;146/76, 123

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,041,495 10/1912 Liggett241/194 1,648,625 1 1/ 1927 Shelton 241/82 Primary Examiner-Donald G.Kelly Attorney-John D. Pope, III

ABSTRACT: The turbopulp-refining blender and classifier is comprised ofa refining chamber having an inlet port and a plurality of bladesdetachably mounted by securing means on a rotor which is rotatablymounted within the refining chamber. The blades have beveled cuttingedges on their opposite ends and are each positioned on the rotor withone end disposed outwardly with respect to the rotational axis of therotor and with the opposite end pointing inwardly with respect to therotational axis of the rotor. The refining chamber includes adjustablewalls adapted to be moved inwardly and outwardly with respect to therotor.

Patented Dec. 28, 1971 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR LLOYD D. SMILEYATTORNEY Patented Dec. 28, 1971 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 m T N E V W LLOYD D.SMILEY BY WM ATTORNEY 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR LLOYD D; MI LEY BY M IUL ATTORNEY TURBOPULP REFINING BLENDER AND CLASSIFIER This inventionrelates to an improvement in a refining blender.

Presently, refining blenders often include a chamber with jagged-toothwalls and a rotatable rotor within the chamber having blades securedthereto. The teeth on the chamber walls and the blades on the rotorcooperate to shred and blend material introduced into the chamber. Anexample of such a refining blender is described in my previously issuedUS. Pat. No. 2,656,119.

Several problems are encountered with refining blenders as they arepresently constructed in the art. Over an extended period of time theV-shaped teeth of the chamber walls and the blades on the rotor begin towear, and as a result the space therebetween becomes larger and larger.Eventually this wearing becomes so pronounced that the efficiency of therefiner is afiected and the blades and chamber walls must be replaced.This is an expensive and time-consuming operation. In addition, theblades dull due to contact with the material being refined, andconsequently they must often be removed and be used one at a time beforeit is necesary to remove and resharpen the cutting edges. The refinerfurther includes blades which are easily removable, and includes chamberwalls which are adjustable inwardly and outwardly with respect to therotor. Structure is also provided for facilitating the separation offine materials from coarser materials during the operation of therefiner.

Among the several objects of the present invention may be noted theprovision of blades with more than one usable cutting edge; theprovision of blades which have shapes and arrangement giving a maximumamount of agitation of the refining material; the provision of securingmeans for the blades which permit their easy removal; the provision ofmeans for adjusting the distance between the blades and the walls of thechamber; the provision of means for separating coarse materials fromfiner materials; and the provision of a refining blender which iseconomical to manufacture and durable in use. Other objects and featureswill be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the constructions hereinafterdescribed, the scope of the invention being indicated in the followingclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which several of various possibleembodiments of the invention are illustrated:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view, partly broken away and in section,of a refining blender constructed in accordance with and embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed perspective view showing the arrangementof the blades on the rotor; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a modified form of the refiningblender in FIGS. I and 2.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, 10 designates a refiner housing having endwalls l2, 14 (FIG. 2), a floor l6, sidewalls 18, 20, top walls 22, 24,midwalls 26, 28, hinged flaps 30, 32, and a hopper housing 34. Atopposite ends of floor 16 are two outlet ports 36, 38. Extendingupwardly from the center of floor 16 is a vertically disposed dividerflange 40. An arcuate fine screen plate 42 having a vertically disposedattachment flange 44 at one of its ends and a horizontally disposedattachment flange 46 at the other of its ends is operatively securedwithin housing 10 with vertical attachment flange 44 secured to dividerflange 40 and with horizontally disposed attachment flange 46 secured tomidwall 26. The arcuate portion of fine screen plate 42 comprisessubstantially 90 of a circle. The attachment of fine screen plate 42within housing 10 as described above forms a fine materials outletcompartment 48 which is defined by fine screen plate 42, divider flange40, floor l6, sidewall 18, and top wall 22.

The shape of housing 10 may be varied without detracting from theinvention. It should be arranged so that its interior will be easilyaccessible for repair and changing of blades and screens. This can bedone by arranging the top half to be bolted in sections.

An arcuate coarse screen plate 50 includes a vertically disposedattachment flange 52 at one of its ends and a horizontally disposedattachment flange 54 at its opposite end. Vertical attachment flange 52is operatively secured to divider flange 40 and horizontally disposedattachment flange 54 is operatively secured to midwall 28. Coarse screenplate 50 is comprised of a plurality of louver slats 56 which form aplurality of openings similar to the arrangement of venetian blinds.These openings are substantially larger than the apertures in finescreen plate 42. The angle of louver slats 56 and the distancetherebetween determine how much refining material is forced back intothe refining blades (described hereinafter) for further shredding.Coarse screen plate 50 may be constructed with louver slats 56 beingangled from 6 to 60 with respect to the tangent of the arc del'med bycoarse screen plate 50. The distance between louver slats may be fromonesixteenth of an inch to one-half of an inch. The attachment of coarsescreen plate 50 within housing 10 forms a coarse outlet compartment 58which is defined by coarse screen plate 50, divider flange 40, floor l6,sidewall 20, and top wall 22.

Fine outlet compartment 48 is provided with an adjustable weir 60, andcoarse outlet compartment 58 is provided with an adjustable weir 62.Weirs 60, 62, are pivoted at their lower ends to brackets 64, 66,respectively. Two weir adjustment bolts 68, 70, extend downwardlythrough top walls 22, 24, respectively, and engage the upper ends ofweirs 60, 62, respectively. Weirs 60, 62, each contain a slot (notshown) at their upper ends for receiving the lower ends of weiradjustment bolts 68, 70, respectively. Weir adjustment bolts 68, 70, areequipped with T-shaped lower ends 72, 74, which bear against theundersurfaces of weirs 60, 62, respectively. Thus, by turning weiradjustment bolts 68, 70, weirs 60, 62, are pivoted upwardly ordownwardly.

I-Iopper housing 34 includes a hopper chamber 76. Referring to FIG. 2,an inlet port 78 provides communication into hopper chamber 76. Hopperchamber 76 is enclosed at its top and around its sides and extendsdownwardly to a hopper mouth 80. A feeder wheel 82 is rotatably mountedacross hopper chamber 76 at a position slightly above hopper mouth 80.Feeder wheel 82 includes an axle 84 which is joumaled at one of its endsin a pillow block 86 and has the other of its ends extending outwardlythrough end wall I4 to engage a conventional variable speed drive motor88. Operatively extending along the length of axle 84 and radiatingoutwardly therefrom are six feeder paddles 90. Feeder paddles 90 spiralaround axle 84, each paddle progressing a radial distance of about 60from one of its ends to the opposite of its ends. Upon activation of thedrive motor 88, axle 84 and paddles 90 are rotated at a speed which maybe varied to obtain the desired results. The purpose of feeder wheel 82is to distribute the refining materials across the width of hopperchamber 76 before they fall downwardly through hopper mouth 80. A pairof wiper plates 91 are rigidly secured to the inside of hopper chamber76 and extend inwardly adjacent feeder wheel 82 to aid in thedistribution of refining materials across the width of hopper chamber76.

A pair of arcuately shaped chamber wall plates 92, 94, having aplurality of V-shaped teeth 96 protruding from their inner arcuatesurfaces are hinged at their upper edges 98, 100, to the extreme lowerends of hopper housing 34 by pins 102, 104. The lower ends 106, 108, ofplates 92, 94, rest on horizontal attachment flanges 46, 54, of finescreen plate 42 and coarse screen plate 50, respectively. The result ofthis construction is the formation of a cylindrical refining chamberdefined by fine screen plate 42, coarse screen plate 50, and the innerarcuate surfaces of chamber wall plates 92, 94.

V-shaped teeth 96 are formed by bars which run lengthwise along theinner arcuate surfaces of chamber wall plates 92, 94. Bars having twodifferent cross-sectional shapes can be used asillustrated in H6. 1. TheV-shaped teeth 96 on chamber wall plate 92 have in cross sectiontriangular sides which are equal length, thereby creating a plurality ofundulations on the inner arcuate surface of chamber wall plate 92. TheV-shaped teeth 96 on the chamber wall plate 94 have one side longer thanthe other and have a sharp apex. The sharp apexes all point onedirection so as to present a plurality of cutting edges for shreddingthe fibers of the refining materials. Either of these two typesofV-shaped teeth may be used.

Extending horizontally through midwalls 26, 28, respectively, are twochamber adjustment bolts 112, 114, which have their extreme inner endshinged to chamber wall plates 92, 94, respectively, by hinges 116, 118.Hinges 116, 118, are located adjacent lower ends 106, 108, of chamberwall plates 92, 94. By rotating chamber adjustment bolts 1 12, 1 14, onecan move the lower ends 106, 108, of chamber wall plates 92, 94,horizontally inwardly and outwardly with respect to the cylindrical axisof refining chamber 110.

Referring to FIG. 2, two bearing bases 120, 122, protrude from the outerlower ends of end walls 12,14. Mounted upon bearing bases 120, 122, aretwo bearing housings 124, 126, which are equipped with bearings (notshown) therein. Rotatably extending through bearing housings 124, 126,is a rotor axle 128. Rotor axle 128 extends through apertures in endwalls 12, 14, and through the cylindrical axis of refining chamber 110.Rotor axle 128 is adapted to rotate within bearing housings 124, 126,and is rotatably driven by any conventional drive means (not shown).

Extending along the length of rotor axle 128 is a key slot 130. Mountedupon rotor axle 128 within refining chamber 110 are a plurality of bladespacer disks 132 having center apertures embracing the outer surface ofrotor axle 128. A disk key slot 134 is cut in the center aperture ofspacer disks 132 and is aligned with the key slot 130 of rotor axle 128.A plurality of spacers 136 encircle rotor axle 128 and are interspacedalternatively between blade spacer disks 132. Spacers 136 are alsoprovided with key slots which align with key slots 130, 134, of rotoraxle 128 and blade spacer disks 132, respectively. A key 138 extendsthrough the aforementioned aligned key slots to prevent rotationalmovement of blade spacer disks 132 and spacers 136 with respect to rotoraxle 128. Thus rotation of rotor axle 128 causes blade spacer disks 132and spacers 136 to rotate within cylindrical refining chamber 110. Rotoraxle 128, blade spacer disks 132 and spacers 136 may be referred tocollectively as rotor 140.

Slidably extending through blade spacer disks 132 are eight blade rods142 which are positioned equidistantly from rotor axle 128 so that theydefine a circle concentric about rotor axle 128. Cotter pins 144 extendthrough the opposite ends of blade rods 142 to hold them against slidingmovement out of blade spacer disks 132. Securing means other than cotterpins 144 may be used without detracting from the invention. For example,a rotatable locking disk could be used. A plurality of rectangularblades 146 are strung upon blade rods 142 through pivot apertures intheir centers. Blades 146 are substantially equal in thickness to thespace between spacer disks 132 and are mounted in their spaces on bladerods 142. Blades 146 are rotatable upon blade rods 142 and arepositioned thereon with one of their ends outwardly disposed withrespect to rotor axle 128 and the opposite of their ends disposedinwardly and pointing toward rotor axle 128. The outwardly disposed endsof blades 146 protrude slightly beyond the edges of blade spacer disks132. A plurality of lock rods 148 also slidably extend through bladespacer disks 132 and are positioned equidistantly from rotor axle 128 sothat they are positioned in a circle concentric with rotor axle 128.Lock rods 148 are positioned so that they abut against the oppositeedges of blades 146. They are positioned away from the midpoint of thelongitudinal axis of blades 146 so that their engagement with the bladeedges prevents the rotation of blades 146 about blade rods 142. Cotterpins (not shown) protrude through the opposite ends of lock rods 148 tohold them against sliding movement longitudinally within blade spacerdisks 132. Securing means other than cotter pins may be used withoutdetracting from the invention. For example, a rotatable locking diskcould be used. Lock rods 148 may be removed by taking out the cotterpins or rotating the locking disk and sliding lock rods 148 out ofspacer disks 132. Removal of lock rods 148 is necessary in rotatingblades 146 through 180 to reposition blades 146. Blade rods 142 maylikewise be removed by removing cotter pins 144 (or the locking disks,if used) and sliding blade rods 142 out of blade spacer disks132.Removal of blade rods 142 permits removal of blades 146 from betweenblade spacer disks 132.

Blades 146 are shown in greater detail in FIG. 3. They are comprised ofsubstantially rectangular plates having opposite ends 152, 154, oppositefaces 156, 158, and opposite edges 160, 162. At the opposite ends ofedge 160 are beveled cutting or shredding edges 164, 166, and at theopposite ends of edge 162 are beveled cutting edges or shredding edges168, 170. The central portions of opposite edges 160, 162, are shaped toform blunt bearing edges 172, 174. Pivot apertures 176 extend throughblades 146 at the center of their longitudinal axes. Lock rods 148extend through apertures in blade spacer disks 132 and abut againstblunt bearing edges 172, 174, to prevent the rotational movement ofblades 146 about blade rods 142.

The opposite ends 152, 154, of blades 146 are trapezoidal in crosssecton due to the beveled shredding edges 164, 166, 168, 170. Face 156forms the top member of the cross-sectional trapezoid and face 158 formsthe trapezoidal base. Blades 146 are arranged on blade rods 142 so thatfaces 156 face one another and faces 158 face one another. In otherwords blades 146 are positioned so that when they are viewed in crosssection, the trapezoid bases face one another and simultaneously thetrapezoid tops face one another. This arrangement of blades 146 causes amaximum amount of agita-,

tion of the refining materials. The beveled edges create convectioncurrents in the refining materials in much the same fashion as would aplurality of airplane propellers. At extremely high speeds they forcethe refining materials to be diverted in a plurality of directions.

In instances where a sharp shredding edge is not essential to properlyrefine the refining materials, a blade having squaredoff edges could beused.

The V-shaped teeth 96, as previously described, are formed from aplurality of bars which create undulations on the inner arcuate surfacesof chamber wall plates 92, 94. When rotor 140 rotates at high speeds itcauses the refining materials to be propelled around refining chamber inwavelike fashion in small clumps accelerated by blades 146 and thenretarded by the undulations to a near stop. The crests of the waves ofrefining materials are then sheared ofi by blades 146. Consequently, theability to adjust the distance between V-shaped teeth 96 and blades 146is essential to attain the maximum efficiency in shredding action.

The turbo refining blender and classifier operates in the followingmanner: Refining materials are introduced through inlet port 78 intohopper chamber 76 where they are swept by feeder wheel 82 across theentire width of hopper chamber 76 and then are permitted to fall throughhopper mouth 80 into refining chamber 110. If the materials areintroduced into hopper chamber 76 at a rate faster than the refiningblender can accommodate, they will overflow through an overflow port 178in hopper chamber 76. Rotor is rotated at high speed by a drive means(not shown) which is secured to rotor axle 128. As the refiningmaterials enter refining chamber 1 10 they are flung about the chamberby the rotation of blades 146. V-shaped teeth 96 of chamber wall plates92, 94, and the forward leading shredding edges of blades 146 cause therefining materials to be shredded and combed into small fibers. Only oneshredding edge of each blade 146 will be driven against the fibers ofthe refining materials in any one given position of the blade, thussaving the remaining three shredding edges to be used at a later time.The refining materials, when broken down into small enough fibers, willfilter downwardly through coarse screen plate 50 into coarse outletcompartment 58. Other materials which have been broken into finer fiberswill filter through the small apertures in fine screen plate 42 and willfall into fine outlet compartment ed. The level of refining materials incompartments 48 and 58 will rise until the material flows over weirs 60,62. The materials will then leave compartments 48, 58, through outletports 36, 38. The level of the refining materials in the outletcompartments may be controlled by adjusting weir adjustment bolts 68,70, to hold weirs 60, 62, at the desired height. it is preferable thatthe level of refined fibers in compartments 48, 58, be maintained at apoint above the lowermost edge of rotor 140, thereby causing a backup"of refining materials into refining chamber 110 to contribute to theagitation within refining chamber 1 10.

When the refining blender has been used over a long period of timewearing occurs on the extreme outer ends of blades 146 and on V-shapedteeth 96 of chamber wall plates 92, 94. Consequently, the space betweenblades M6 and l-shaped teeth 96 is enlarged. In order to prevent adecrease in the efficiency of the refining action, it is necessary toclose up this enlarged space. This is done by turning chamber adjustmentbolts 112, lid, to move lower edges 106, 108, of chamber wall plates 92,94, inwardly with respect to chamber 1 10. The hinging of chamber wallplates 92, 94, about pins 102, 104, permits this adjustment to be made.

Throughout a period of extended use of forward leading shredding edgesof blades 1 .46 become dulled due to their contact with refiningmaterials. Referring to FIG. 3, if rotor 144) is rotating in a clockwisedirection, shredding edge 168 is the first leading shredding edge. Whenit becomes dull the machine is stopped, lock rods 148 are removed, andblades 146 are rotated 180, thereby introducing shredding edge 166 as asecond leading shredding edge. Lock rods Mg are then replaced to holdblades 146 in position. When the second shredding edge becomes dull,blade rod 142 is removed and blades 146 are removed and rotated 180about its longitudinal axis so that shredding edge 170 is introduced asa third leading shredding edge. Blade rod 142 is reinserted to holdblades 146 in place. When the third leading shredding edge becomes dull,lock rods 148 are again removed and blades 146 are rotated 180 tointroduce shredding edge 164 as a fourth leading shredding edge. Thusmeans are provided for utilizing four shredding edges on each bladebefore it is necessary to sharpen the shredding edges.

The necessity for removing blades 146 between the introduction of thesecond and third shredding edges may be avoided by providing means forreversing the rotational direction of rotor 140. The reversal of therotational direction of rotor 140 will introduce the third shreddingedge as a leading edge without removing blades 146.

It is desirable to have the fine materials removed first from therefining chamber Hi0 so that they can be separated from the coarsermaterials. Consequently, fine screen plate 42 is positioned so that therotating materials will pass it before progressing to coarse screenplate 50. For example, in H6. 1 the screen plates are positioned forcounterclockwise rotation of rotor 140. lfthe direction of rotor M0 isreversed, then fine screen plate 42 and coarse screen plate 50 should beinterchanged so that the fine materials will be separated from thecoarse materials.

A modification of the refining blender is illustrated in FIG. 4. Theconstruction of this refining blender is substantially the same as thatshown in FIGS. 1 and 2 except that a single screen plate 180 extendsaround the complete bottom half of refining chamber 110 and a singleoutlet compartment 182 is provided below screen plate 180. Single outletcompartment 182 narrows at its lower end and forms a communication withan outlet hopper 184 at the bottom thereof. Outlet hopper 1&4 includesan outlet paddle wheel 186 which is identical in construction to feederwheel 82 illustrated in H6. 2. The extreme lower end of outlet hopper184 has an open mouth 188 which may be connected to a conduit (notshown) for carrying away the refined fibers. The structure in FIG. 4 isidentical in construetion to that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 except that asingle outlet compartment E82 is provided with an outlet hopper 184 atthe bottom thereof.

in view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of theinvention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

What is claimed is:

l. A turbo pulp-refining blender and classifier comprising a housing, arefining chamber in said housing, said chamber having inlet and outletports, a rotor rotatably mounted within said refining chamber, and aplurality of blades having opposite ends, said blades being detachablymounted on said rotor by securing means, said blades having at least twoshredding edges for shredding refining materials and including at leastone shredding edge on each said opposite end, each of said blades beingpositioned on said rotor with one said opposite end being disposedoutwardly with respect to the rotational axis of said rotor and with theother said opposite end pointing inwardly with respect to the rotationalaxis of said rotor, and wherein each of said opposite ends includes twobeveled shredding edges facing in opposite directions, said oppositeends of said blades being trapezoidal in cross-sectional shape, theopposite faces of said blades forming the cross-sec tional trapezoidaltops and trapezoidal bases, whereby said blades create hydraulicturbulence in said refining materials when said rotor is rotated andsaid beveled shredding edges cause said refining materials to besubjected alternatively to high and low pressure to further break openthe fibers of said refining materials as said blades pass through saidrefining materials.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said blades are spaced apart and arearranged so that the faces forming cross-sectional trapezoidal bases arefacing one another and the 'faces forming cross-sectional trapezoidaltops are facing one another.

3. A turbo pulp-refining blender and classifier comprising a refinerhousing, a cylindrical refining chamber formed within said refinerhousing, a rotor rotatably mounted to said refiner housing and extendinginto the refining chamber, said rotor being adapted to rotate withinsaid refining chamber, a plurality of blades operatively secured to saidrotor, said blades being arranged concentrically around the rotationalaxis of said rotor and protruding radially outwardly therefrom, a pairof arcuate chamber wall plates movably secured to said housing anddefining a portion of said refining chamber, said chamber wall platesbeing movable towards and away from said rotor, a pair of hinged flaps,each said flap being secured to said housing in spaced relationship overa respective said chamber wall plate, and adjustment means engaging saidchamber wall plate, said adjustment means extending from said spacebetween said chamber wall plates and said flaps to a position remotefrom and outside of said space and adapted to be moved selectively tocause said chamber wall plates to be moved towards and away from saidrotor.

d. The device of claim 3 wherein said refining chamber includes a singlescreen wall forming communication from within said chamber to a singleoutlet compartment.

5. The device of claim 3 wherein said chamber wall plates are hingcdlymounted at an edge thereof to said housing for pivotal movement of saidplates toward and away from said rotor.

6. The device of claim 3 wherein said adjusting means comprise a boltsecured at one end to said arcuate chamber wall plates and a nutthreadedly secured to said bolt outside said space in bearingrelationship with said flap such that rotation of said nut moves saidchamber walls inwardly and outwardly with respect to said rotor toadjust the spacing between said chamber walls and said rotor.

7. A turbo pulp-refining blender and classifier comprising a refinerhousing, a cylindrical refining chamber formed within 7 said refinerhousing, said refining chamber including a fine screen wall portionleading to a first outlet compartment and a coarse screen wall portionleading to a second outlet compartment, said coarse screen wall portionhaving larger apertures towards and away from said rotor, and adjustmentmeans engaging said chamber wall plates and adapted to be movedselectively to cause said chamber wall plates to be moved towards andaway from said rotor.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein said first and second outletcompartments each include adjustable overflow weirs which are adapted tomaintain the level of refined material in said compartments at a heightwhich will cause the refining materials to back up in said refiningchamber so that they will be sub- 10 jected to further shredding actionwithin said refining chamber to insure full breakdown of the fibers ofsaid refining materials.

W i i l

1. A turbo pulp-refining blender and classifier comprising a housing, arefining chamber in said housing, said chamber having inlet and outletports, a rotor rotatably mounted within said refining chamber, and aplurality of blades having opposite ends, said blades being detachablymounted on said rotor by securing means, said blades having at least twoshredding edges for shredding refining materials and including at leastone shredding edge on each said opposite end, each of said blades beingpositioned on said rotor With one said opposite end being disposedoutwardly with respect to the rotational axis of said rotor and with theother said opposite end pointing inwardly with respect to the rotationalaxis of said rotor, and wherein each of said opposite ends includes twobeveled shredding edges facing in opposite directions, said oppositeends of said blades being trapezoidal in cross-sectional shape, theopposite faces of said blades forming the cross-sectional trapezoidaltops and trapezoidal bases, whereby said blades create hydraulicturbulence in said refining materials when said rotor is rotated andsaid beveled shredding edges cause said refining materials to besubjected alternatively to high and low pressure to further break openthe fibers of said refining materials as said blades pass through saidrefining materials.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein said blades arespaced apart and are arranged so that the faces forming cross-sectionaltrapezoidal bases are facing one another and the faces formingcross-sectional trapezoidal tops are facing one another.
 3. A turbopulp-refining blender and classifier comprising a refiner housing, acylindrical refining chamber formed within said refiner housing, a rotorrotatably mounted to said refiner housing and extending into therefining chamber, said rotor being adapted to rotate within saidrefining chamber, a plurality of blades operatively secured to saidrotor, said blades being arranged concentrically around the rotationalaxis of said rotor and protruding radially outwardly therefrom, a pairof arcuate chamber wall plates movably secured to said housing anddefining a portion of said refining chamber, said chamber wall platesbeing movable towards and away from said rotor, a pair of hinged flaps,each said flap being secured to said housing in spaced relationship overa respective said chamber wall plate, and adjustment means engaging saidchamber wall plate, said adjustment means extending from said spacebetween said chamber wall plates and said flaps to a position remotefrom and outside of said space and adapted to be moved selectively tocause said chamber wall plates to be moved towards and away from saidrotor.
 4. The device of claim 3 wherein said refining chamber includes asingle screen wall forming communication from within said chamber to asingle outlet compartment.
 5. The device of claim 3 wherein said chamberwall plates are hingedly mounted at an edge thereof to said housing forpivotal movement of said plates toward and away from said rotor.
 6. Thedevice of claim 3 wherein said adjusting means comprise a bolt securedat one end to said arcuate chamber wall plates and a nut threadedlysecured to said bolt outside said space in bearing relationship withsaid flap such that rotation of said nut moves said chamber wallsinwardly and outwardly with respect to said rotor to adjust the spacingbetween said chamber walls and said rotor.
 7. A turbo pulp-refiningblender and classifier comprising a refiner housing, a cylindricalrefining chamber formed within said refiner housing, said refiningchamber including a fine screen wall portion leading to a first outletcompartment and a coarse screen wall portion leading to a second outletcompartment, said coarse screen wall portion having larger aperturestherein than said fine screen wall portion, a rotor rotatably mounted tosaid refiner housing and extending into the refining chamber, said rotorbeing adapted to rotate within said refining chamber, a plurality ofblades operatively secured to said rotor, said blades being arrangedconcentrically around the rotational axis of said rotor and protrudingradially outwardly therefrom, a pair of arcuate chamber wall platesmovably secured to said housing and defining a portion of said refiningchamber, said chamber wall plates being movable towards and away fromsaid rotor, and adjustment means engaging said chamber wall plates andadapted to be moved selectively to cause said chamber wall plates to bemoved toWards and away from said rotor.
 8. The device of claim 7 whereinsaid first and second outlet compartments each include adjustableoverflow weirs which are adapted to maintain the level of refinedmaterial in said compartments at a height which will cause the refiningmaterials to back up in said refining chamber so that they will besubjected to further shredding action within said refining chamber toinsure full breakdown of the fibers of said refining materials.